When the world wearies and society fails to satisfy, there is always the garden.

Minnie Aumonier

Spring is such a fun time of year is you are interested in gardening and growing your own food. I am already behind schedule, mainly because we just added our newest and final member of our family two months ago, and I had a rough time with the pregnancy and the birth. Thankfully, recovery has gone well and we are both healthy and ready to go!

I will be honest with you, I usually just wing it when it comes to my garden. I am not typically a rule follower in my kitchen or my yard and garden. Everywhere else? I am pretty by the book, but those 2 places are my free spaces. My goal for this summer was to start early and follow all of the gardening rules. I had also set a goal to grow enough produce to preserve and use throughout the year until the fresh fruits and veggies start again. That is not going to happen this year and I will share a small little secret as to why- we are not planning on living at our current property too much longer! More about that later.

Knowing that we hopefully have a move coming has changed my plans for our garden quite a bit. For example, I had planned on planting two full rows of tomatoes for making sauce. Not everyone wants two rows of tomatoes, I’m sure, so I will be planting a more main stream type garden than I set out to this year.

Gardening is so much fun and so rewarding, but it can be stressful if you don’t know where to start. My first year went so well I thought I was some kind of expert (insert major eye roll here…) The following year knocked me right back into my place for sure! Something ate my seedlings right out of my greenhouse, my tomatoes didn’t ripen, something ate my potatoes, my ears of corn were miniature, pests got my green beans, and the list goes on and on. With all of those catastrophes, I have learned a few things so far and I want to share with you.

Know Your Zone

Did you know you can look up where you live on a zone map and find out what zone you live in? This is crucial to planning your garden! Your zone will tell you what will grow well in your area, plus it lays out what to start inside from seed, what to start directly in your garden soil, and when to start your seeds. Knowing your zone will also tell you when to move your seedlings outside, just be sure to properly harden your seedlings first so they don’t experience shock. Here is a great article about hardening your seedlings https://www.burpee.com/blog/hardening-off-your-seedlings_article10355.html

In my area of Western Washington I am in zone 8a. I should already have my lettuce, onions, carrots, spinach, and a few other things in my garden, but like I said… I am behind. Guess what? It’s ok! We just might not get as big of a harvest from some of the cooler weather crops like lettuce, spinach, etc., but we will still enjoy some good salads.

Plant For Your Tastes

Gardening is hard work, and so time consuming! It makes no sense to plant, nurture, harvest, and preserve things that your family won’t eat. My first garden that I did, I planted the things I was “supposed” to plant. Guess what that got me? A whole summer of a lot of work, and tons of produce that either got wasted, or was given away. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy gifting fruits and veggies to my friends and family, but I wanted to enjoy it too!

What Are Your Goals?

My first couple seasons of gardening were kind of a trial and error period. I had no clue what I was doing. Things died, things were ready to harvest at the oddest times. I still don’t know what I’m doing, but I know more than I did before, which is the goal right?

Now that I have a better handle on what I’m doing… kind of…. I plant with the intention of producing enough produce to fill my freezer, can, and make sauce. SOOO much sauce! I try to grow enough tomatoes and onions to make spaghetti sauce and pizza sauce. Knowing that my family eats a lot of sauce, jam, and corn allows me to plant accordingly. Lots of strawberries, tomatoes, corn, and for me broccoli, beans, etc. I also want to try my hand at canning salsa this year, so I will need peppers, onions, and even more tomatoes.

Have Fun!

All of that being said, relax and have fun! Know that gardening is rewarding and humbling, and oh so worth it. It was a hard lesson for me to relax when things didn’t go as planned… like when my replacement greenhouse I bought flew across our yard in a wind storm with all of my seedlings in it.

This year will be another experience for me- planting a garden I think someone else will want to enjoy this fall, while still planting for my family’s tastes to harvest throughout the season. I can’t wait to share my garden updates with you throughout the summer!

What are you planting this year?